DTC takes ‘Destination Monaco’ message to Brazil and Argentina

A delegation from the Monaco Tourism and Convention Bureau, accompanied by several Monegasque tourism partners, visited Brazil (Belo Horizonte, Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paolo and Porto Allegre) and Argentina (Buenos Aires), from April 14 to April 24.

The Monaco delegation was led by Corinne Kiabski, DTC’s Director of Communications, and Laurence Aquilina, Head of the South American Market in DTC’s Marketing and Sales Department. They were accompanied by Marion Fernandez from Meridien Beach Plaza, Claudia Ellmer from the Hotel Metropole Monte Carlo and Alexandre Lebrat from Monte-Carlo SBM.

In Sao Paolo, a working meeting between hotel partners and wedding planners was held in order to present Monaco as an ideal destination for Brazilian clients on a special honeymoon. The wedding industry is experiencing an exponential boom in Brazil.
Throughout the promotional tour, lunches and meetings, to which the national media were invited, provided an opportunity for Monaco to showcase its new travel slogan: “Green is the new Glam.”

Members of the DTC, as well as the representatives of the Brazilian office, then continued their meetings in Buenos Aires. They made first contact with high-end travel agencies to make them aware of the attractions of destination Monaco. At the same time, meetings with the Argentinean media helped to place the Principality at the heart of the Argentinean news agenda.

Brazil is an emerging market for Monaco. In 2017, Brazil was in 18th place among the top 20 arrivals in the Principality. For its part, Argentina, the third largest economy in Latin America, is growing at an annual rate of 2.8 percent and could become a buoyant market for the DTC.

[caption id="attachment_1906" align="alignleft" width="300"] Nice Côte d'Azur Airport Photo: OliBac[/caption]
The Department of the Alpes-Maritimes has announced that it intends to sell most of its small stake in Nice Airport to the Italian consortium named as the winner of a tender to acquire the French government’s share in France’s busiest airport after Paris Charles de Gaulle and Orly.
“We would like to keep a stake of up to one percent so we can keep our seat on the board and the right to veto or knowledge of strategic decisions,” the Departmental Council said.
The sale could bring in up to €81 million, which could be used to reduce the Council’s debt or for infrastructure projects. The Council meets again on September 22.

[caption id="attachment_20046" align="alignnone" width="640"] Photo: DTC[/caption]
The London office of the Tourism and Convention Bureau recently organised a successful meeting between the business tourism professionals of the British capital and several of the major tourism players in the Principality.
Guy Antognelli, Assistant to the Director of Tourism and Congress, and Nicolas Manuello, MICE sales manager of the Convention Bureau, accompanied the London office team, led by Stephan Degueurce-Roberge.
The Grimaldi Forum, SBM Monte Carlo, Fairmont, Meridian and Columbus were present, as were CMX Event Management, Lafayette Group Monaco, and Dream Catcher.
During this showcase, over a hundred entities were able to discuss new projects in a friendly atmosphere where the Mediterranean was at the centre.
The success of the event, held in Soho at the premises of the Phonica Records store, demonstrated once again the attractiveness Monaco has for this clientele and the recognition of the know-how of tourism professionals in the Principality.
The British came to Monaco in large numbers during the month of July, an encouraging sign for Destination Monaco.